Mark Warner on Health Care

Democratic Jr Senator; previously Governor

Ebola: screen passengers on flights from West Africa

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican challenger Ed Gillespie hammered each other over ethics and taxes in their third and final scheduled debate.

Warner and Gillespie found common ground in their criticism of the Obama administration's handling
of the Ebola outbreak. Warner said the administration should have moved more quickly in setting up Ebola screenings at major U.S. airports, while Gillespie said the U.S. should have already imposed a flight ban on planes coming from West Africa.

Source: News-Tribune on 2014 Virginia Senate debate
, Oct 13, 2014

AdWatch: Targeted by RNC robocalls for support of ObamaCare

Sen. Mark Warner is among 11 Democrats targeted by the Republican National Committee for their support of ObamaCare. The RNC is using robocalls and posting on Facebook to urge people to call their representatives and ask "why they supported
President Obama's lie that people could keep their healthcare plans under ObamaCare."

"President Obama and the Democrats said you could keep your healthcare plan under ObamaCare. Now we know [SENATOR] actually VOTED to make it more
difficult. Call [SENATOR] at (XXX)-XXX-XXX & ask why [he/she] lied."

The robocalls are a response to Democrats launching the "GOP Shutdown Watch" campaign, highlighting Republican senate candidates who supported the partial federal government shutdown.

Proposed 50-governor 7-principle Medicaid reform

The nation's governors--all 50 of them, right and left--had worked for over 18 months to carve out a bipartisan reform package that we commonly felt would improve services without adding costs, but, in fact, would save taxpayer money. Getting that many
governors to agree on 7 basic principles for reforming a very complicated program like Medicaid was no easy task. It turned out to be even harder to convince Congress that our plan should be given due consideration.

Mark Warner, then governor of
Virginia, and I first made the trek to Capitol Hill to embark on what we thought would be a relatively easy sell. Here were two governors--one from either party--representing a plan proposed and signed by all the governors, a plan that would save federal
money & give the citizens in these states greater coverage and the program greater flexibility. Mark and I were both somewhat taken aback by the harsh tone of the questions we received, and the angry spirit in which members spoke to us and to one another

Cannot allow 47 million Americans to go without access

Q: Would you favor legislation requiring that every American have health insurance?

Warner: We need to fix our nation's health care system. It's both a moral issue and a competitiveness issue--we simply cannot allow
47 million Americans to go without access to health care while those who are fortunate enough to have insurance pay twice as much per person as our competitors around the world.
By focusing on preventative care and cutting costs through proven measures like switching to electronic medical records, we can expand coverage and increase quality of care. I do not support a government run, single payer system.

Gilmore: I support a
broad range of health care reform including tax reform to help people buy health insurance and maintain health savings accounts. I believe we also need medical liability reforms to reduce frivolous lawsuits and help bring down health care costs.

As governor, 138,000 more children covered by insurance

Providing young children with health insurance is crucial. Prior to 2002, Virginia had an abysmal program for children’s health insurance. By many accounts, Virginia’s program, FAMIS, the Family Access to Medical Insurance Service, was one of
the worst in the nation. Mark Warner pledged to turn the children’s health insurance program around, and he kept his promise. Over his term, almost 138,000 additional children were covered by health insurance through FAMIS.

Get every eligible child health care

Almost 50,000 Virginia children are still not enrolled and have no health insurance. As a result, Virginia lost tens of millions of federal funding that went to insuring children in other states where leaders made a
commitment to providing health care coverage to children. As Governor, Mark Warner will ensure that every eligible child gets the health care they need and deserve.

Source: Campaign web site, MarkWarner2001.org/issues
, Nov 6, 2001

Answer seniors’ questions with “Senior Navigator”

Virginia’s senior citizens face plenty of challenges in taking care of their health. Sometimes the toughest challenge is simply getting answers to basic questions, like: How will my medications interact?

“Senior Navigator” will help senior citizens.
Senior Navigator is an interactive health-care information web site for seniors on the Internet. But it also creates a network of community-based volunteers who will help seniors navigate the health-care maze.

Supports Virginia Health Care Foundation for under-served

For literally hundreds of thousands of Virginia families, basic health care remains out of reach because they live in rural areas or inner cities where primary care is not available. I helped found the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF)
to help make primary health care available in underserved parts of Virginia. VHCF is a unique public private partnership that leverages state appropriations with private contributions. VHCF is a program that works.

Source: MarkWarner2001.org, “Leaving No One Behind”
, Jan 8, 2001

Voted NO on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts.

Proponent's Arguments for voting Yes:

[Sen. DeMint, R-SC]: The Democrats have Medicare on a course of bankruptcy. Republicans are trying to save Medicare & make sure there are options for seniors in the future. Medicare will not be there 5 or 10 years from now. Doctors will not see Medicare patients at the rate [Congress will] pay.

[Sen. Ayotte, R-NH]: We have 3 choices when it comes to addressing rising health care costs in Medicare. We can do nothing & watch the program go bankrupt in 2024. We can go forward with the President's proposal to ration care through an unelected board of 15 bureaucrats. Or we can show real leadership & strengthen the program to make it solvent for current beneficiaries, and allow future beneficiaries to make choices.

Opponent's Arguments for voting No:

[Sen. Conrad, D-ND]: In the House Republican budget plan, the first thing they do is cut $4 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years. For the wealthiest among us, they
give them an additional $1 trillion in tax reductions. To offset these massive new tax cuts, they have decided to shred the social safety net. They have decided to shred Medicare. They have decided to shred program after program so they can give more tax cuts to those who are the wealthiest among us.

[Sen. Merkley, D-TK]: The Republicans chose to end Medicare as we know it. The Republican plan reopens the doughnut hole. That is the hole into which seniors fall when, after they have some assistance with the first drugs they need, they get no assistance until they reach a catastrophic level. It is in that hole that seniors have had their finances devastated. We fixed it. Republicans want to unfix it and throw seniors back into the abyss. Then, instead of guaranteeing Medicare coverage for a fixed set of benefits for every senior--as Medicare does now--the Republican plan gives seniors a coupon and says: Good luck. Go buy your insurance. If the insurance goes up, too bad.
Status: Failed 40-57

Voted YES on regulating tobacco as a drug.

Congressional Summary:Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Defines a tobacco product as any product made or derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption. Excludes from FDA authority the tobacco leaf and tobacco farms.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. HEATH SHULER (D, NC-11): Putting a dangerous, overworked FDA in charge of tobacco is a threat to public safety. Last year, the FDA commissioner testified that he had serious concerns that this bill could undermine the public health role of the FDA. And the FDA Science Board said the FDA's inability to keep up with scientific advancements means that Americans' lives will be at risk.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:
Rep. HENRY WAXMAN (D, CA-30): The bill before us, the Waxman-Platts bill, has been carefully crafted over more than a decade, in close consultation with the public health community. It's been endorsed by over 1,000 different public health, scientific, medical, faith, and community organizations.

Sen. HARRY REID (D, NV): Yesterday, 3,500 children who had never smoked before tried their first cigarette. For some, it will also be their last cigarette but certainly not all. If you think 3,500 is a scary number, how about 3.5 million. That is a pretty scary number. That is how many American high school kids smoke--3.5 million. Nearly all of them aren't old enough to buy cigarettes. It means we have as many boys and girls smoking as are participating in athletics in high schools. We have as many as are playing football, basketball, track and field, and baseball combined.

Voted YES on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Reauthorizes State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY2013 at increased levels.

Gives states the option to cover targeted low-income pregnant women

Phases out coverage for nonpregnant childless adults.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:

Rep. FRANK PALLONE (D, NJ-6): In the last Congress, we passed legislation that enjoyed bipartisan support as well as the support of the American people. Unfortunately, it did not enjoy the support of the President, who vetoed our bill twice, and went on to proclaim that uninsured children can simply go to the emergency room to have their medical needs met. As the Nation moves deeper into a recession and unemployment rates continue to rise, millions of Americans are joining the ranks of the uninsured, many of whom are children. We can't delay. We must enact this legislation now.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. ROY BLUNT (R, MI-7):
This bill doesn't require the States to meet any kind of threshold standard that would ensure that States were doing everything they could to find kids who needed insurance before they begin to spend money to find kids who may not have the same need. Under the bill several thousands of American families would be poor enough to qualify for SCHIP and have the government pay for their health care, but they'd be rich enough to still be required to pay the alternative minimum tax. The bill changes welfare participation laws by eliminating the 5-year waiting period for legal immigrants to lawfully reside in the country before they can participate in this program. In the final bill, we assume that 65% of the children receiving the benefit wouldn't get the benefit anymore. It seems to me this bill needs more work, would have benefited from a committee hearing. It doesn't prioritize poor kids to ensure that they get health care first.

Merge Alzheimers diagnosis and care benefit.

Warner co-sponsored HOPE for Alzheimer's Act

Congressional Summary:The purpose of this Act is to increase diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, leading to better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Congress makes the following findings:

As many as half of the estimated 5.2 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease have never received a diagnosis.

An early and documented diagnosis and access to care planning services leads to better outcomes for individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Combining the existing Medicare benefits of a diagnostic evaluation and care planning into a single package of services would help ensure that individuals receive an appropriate diagnosis as well as critical information about the disease and available care options.

Proponent's argument for bill: (The Alzheimer's Association, alz.org).
The "Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer's Act" (S.709/H.R. 1507) is one of the Alzheimer's Association's top federal priorities for the 113th Congress. The HOPE for Alzheimer's Act would improve diagnosis of Alzheimer's diseas

Religious exemption from ObamaCare individual mandate.

Warner co-sponsored H.R.631 & S.352

Congressional Summary: To provide an additional religious exemption from the individual health coverage mandate. This Act may be cited as the 'Equitable Access to Care and Health Act' or the 'EACH Act'. The 'Religious Conscience Exemption' exempts individuals who are members of a recognized religious sect which relies solely on a religious method of healing, and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs.

Supporters reasons for voting YEA: (TheHill.com weblog, April 29, 2013): "We believe the EACH Act balances a respect for religious diversity against the need to prevent fraud and abuse," wrote Reps. Aaron Schock (R-IL) and William Keating (D-MA). "It is imperative we expand the religious conscience exemption now as the Administration is verifying the various exemptions to the individual mandate," they wrote. Religious exemption from ObamaCare has come up before, including contraception.
The EACH Act, however, deals only with exemptions from the insurance mandate.

Opponents reasons for voting NAY: (CHILD, Inc. "Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty", Dec. 2014): The Christian Science church is pushing hard to get another religious exemption through Congress. The EACH Act exempts everyone with "sincerely held religious beliefs" from the mandate to buy health insurance. We are particularly concerned about uninsured children: hundreds of American children have died because of their family's religious objections to medical care. The EACH Act increases the risk to children in faith-healing sects and the cost to the state if the children do get medical care. Some complain that their church members should not have to pay for health care that they won't use. But insurance works on the assumption that many in the pool of policyholders will not draw from it. Most people with fire insurance don't have their homes burn, for example.